15th Street East project in Bradenton is No. 1 transportation project in Manatee-Sarasota

MANATEE -- With available funds for construction as early as 2020, Manatee County's 15th Street Complete Street Project is the No. 1 project on the region's 2040 long-range transportation plan.

Nick Lepp, project manager with the Renaissance Planning Group, updated the Manatee County Commission on Tuesday on the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization's 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan.

"It's a lookahead for the future," said Clarke Davis, county transportation planning manager. "The big major projects are more or less directly specified by this plan."

In developing the update, Lepp said they looked at projects already planned as well

as ways to get relief for the areas forecast to see more congestion.

"This plan is developing those projects to help solve the congestion of what's next," Lepp said, reminding the commission it won't entirely eliminate congestion. "What the long-range plan is aiming to do is get those areas less congested. It's starting to help travel time and reliability of the network."

In July, the MPO approved the 2040 Long Range Transportation Needs Plan. The board could approve the final draft of the financial feasibility plan at its meeting Monday. In December, the board is set to adopt the 2040 plan.

According to the first draft of the financial feasibility plan, each county will receive $3 million per year for the multimodal emphasis corridor, $1 million per year for congestion management and $600,000 per year for transportation alternatives.

The 15th Street project calls for roadway improvements and alternative alignments for widening 15th Street East and 301 Boulevard East from two to three lanes between Tallevast Road and U.S. 41.

In addition to the 15th Street Complete Street Project, other roadway projects included for Manatee County come from the Central Manatee Network Analysis, which is looking at traffic congestion in the Bradenton-Palmetto area, and continued funding to expand the Advanced Traffic Management Systems.

With Manatee County's population for 2040 forecast to be close to 500,000, Lepp said they are planning for that growth in the long-range plan. While a lot of the growth in the last plan update occurred in the eastern portions of the county, Lepp said that has shifted a bit.

"We are balancing that a little more with urban redevelopment and urban infill along 41," he said. "There is less federal money than what was available last time."

While a third bridge across the Manatee River has been identified as needed, it is not included in the Financially Feasible Plan, but it could be a project resulting from the Central Manatee Network Analysis.

"It could be a new bridge," Lepp said. "It could be an enhanced 41. We are still waiting for results of that. ... We have set aside a portion of the funds. This has been an area that has been identified in the last long-range plan and this one as downtown mobility."

Commissioner Carol Whitmore said they should look at considering upfront costs where a county or city pays for the project and is reimbursed when the funds become available.

"We can't wait this long for some of these projects, especially the Central Manatee Network Analysis," she said.

Commissioner Robin DiSabatino, who also expressed safety concerns for bicyclists and pedestrians with lack of adequate sidewalks along U.S. 41, echoed Whitmore.

"Since the governor is so pro-business and pro people moving here and our citizens having a better quality of life, maybe we can stress to him in order to meet those goals to start advancing funds so we can move along and speed things up, so to speak," she said.

Commissioner John Chappie said the Central Manatee Network Analysis along with a barrier island to mainland traffic analysis are tremendous tools. The MPO board is waiting to hear from the Florida Department of Transportation about the scope of the barrier island study.

"It's imperative, I think, that we continue to push this process moving forward," he said. "There's a lot of stuff out there right now. We need that analysis done."

Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter @Claire_Aronson.

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 11:52 PM with the headline "15th Street East project in Bradenton is No. 1 transportation project in Manatee-Sarasota ."